


Diamonds

by Not_You



Series: one only understands the things that one tames [27]
Category: Captain America: Winter Soldier, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Collars, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Porn, Natasha Feels, Nick Fury Feels, Nick Fury Lies, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-05
Updated: 2014-04-05
Packaged: 2018-01-18 06:25:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1418326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not_You/pseuds/Not_You
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nick and Natasha get through the events of Winter Soldier.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Diamonds

**Author's Note:**

> SO MANY SPOILERS! ALL THAT HAPPENS IS THAT I SPOIL THINGS AND NICK AND NATASHA CUDDLE, SO DON'T RUIN THE MOVIE FOR YOURSELF!

Natasha doesn't have a collar. It's too obvious. What she has are three little diamonds on a thin chain, one of Nick's initials engraved on the back of each setting. The necklace is very important to her, and only becomes more so after Nick's death. She runs the diamonds between her fingers like a rosary the whole time she's on the run with Steve. It's strange, the way loss always feels new. No matter how much you lose. She only cries when Steve can't hear, and she doesn't call Clint because he and Phil are on the other side of the world and have troubles of their own. Natasha deals with this on her own the way she deals with everything. It's all about compartmentalization and putting one foot in front of the other. Just like Clint did.

Exhausted and in pain and furious and overjoyed and devastated to see Nick alive after all, there's still room for a little amusement. After all this time agonizing about putting Clint through hell, he has gone and done the same thing to her. She doesn't do much in her first shock and in front of Steve, but that night she comes creeping back to Nick's room. Hill is guarding him, and smiles sadly when she sees Natasha, letting her by with no questions asked. Not many people have realized what Nick and Natasha are to each other, but Hill knows.

“He's asleep,” she says softly, moving aside to let Natasha by. “Safe.”

“Thank you, ma'am,” Natasha whispers, and tips her head to let Hill gently squeeze the back of her neck.

“How's the shoulder?”

“I'll live.”

“Through a goddamn nuclear war,” Hill agrees, and Natasha smiles, slipping away and into Nick's room. As Hill said, he's out like a light, so Natasha just settles down to study him. She's still not sure which of her thousand conflicting emotions predominates right now, but every part of her feels easier now that she's near her master again. She never uses the word with Nick. She's had to say it without meaning it too many times, but Natasha is sub enough to know her true master. She dozes off in the chair, fucked up on painkillers and feeling safe again, such a sweet rarity in her hard and hunted life.

“Hey.” Natasha snaps awake at the sound of Nick's voice, pulling on her stitches and nearly falling out of the chair. “Easy, baby girl,” he says, husky with sleep and drugs. “C'mere.” Natasha crawls onto the bed beside him, dry-eyed and controlled. She hesitates, and he smiles. “This is the good side, honey. You can lean on me.” Natasha nods. She doesn't cry until her face is hidden against Nick's side, and then it seems like she'll never stop. She keeps trying to swallow it back, to clench her jaw and whatever other muscles it takes to make the shaking stop, but nothing works and she has no choice but to whimper and sob against Nick's shoulder until it's over. Nick is very understanding about the tears and snot, and chuckles sadly when Natasha is cleaned up and clinging to him again. He carefully eases his good arm around her and holds her close, pressing a kiss to one reddened eyelid and then the other.

“I'm so sorry, baby,” he says softly, running the diamonds through his fingers. “Glad you didn't throw this down the crapper when you realized what I just pulled on you.”

Natasha lets out something that isn't really a laugh, but is pretty close. “I'm not like Clint. I understand.”

“You're so much more than I've ever deserved.” He sounds a little exasperated, the way he does when people thank him.

“I think we're a pretty good match, sir.” She turns her head to kiss his palm. “Deceitful and vicious, the pair of us.”

“I'm so glad you know now. The whole time, I was thinking, 'what the fuck is this gonna do to Natasha?'”

“It wouldn't have killed me,” Natasha says, but she can't honestly be sure of that.

“I prefer not to run the experiment, Romanov.”

“Yes, sir,” she coos, and stays with him as long as she can, because she's sure that this is the last quiet moment they'll get for a while. And that's assuming they survive.

She turns out to be right, of course. It's entirely too long before she can see Nick again, but she has her work and her diamonds. The truth about Sitwell hurts, of course, but Clint actually takes it harder. Sitwell had come the closest to reaching him before Phil, and of course Phil's skin is crawling, just like every other non-Hydra dom in SHIELD. Natasha supposes Nick must be feeling it too, and her suspicions are borne out when she can finally get to him again. They're in the same situation Phil was years ago, trying to adjust to a little house in the suburbs, where no one would ever expect them to be (and for very good reason.) The second the door is shut behind her, Nick has her wrapped into his bathrobe the way he always does with his coat. Natasha cuddles close, and chuckles when Fury murmurs, “Glad you're not ironing your hair anymore, baby girl. I like it better with the wave.”

“What about the color?” It's dyed brown now, because Elisabeth Nichols has brown hair.

“Mm. Miss the red, but the wave makes up for it. Come on.” He gently tugs her into the kitchen. “Lemme feed you.”

Natasha smiles and settles onto the barstool by the counter. “What are we having?”

“Frozen pizza, because cooking with one arm is hard.” He starts the oven, hauling the pizza out of the freezer and squinting at it with his good eye. He glances at the temperature display, which is showing 100 degrees instead of the 400 required. “Fuck it, it'll warm up,” he mutters, stripping the plastic off and sliding it into the oven.

Natasha laughs. “Well, now you'll have Elisabeth to help you.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, she's that sort of sub.” Natasha smiles. “A housewifely little creature. Because I want to take care of you, sir.”

Nick smiles, coming over to bracket her against the counter, leaning in to press a bristly kiss to the corner of her mouth. “I guess that's all right by me.”

Natasha sighs, nuzzling into the side of his neck and closing her eyes. “Good.”


End file.
